In a world where cars have become smartphones on wheels, the Koreans have done the unthinkable – they've brought back physical buttons! But before we start celebrating the solution to sweaty fingers, we need to take a look at the exterior. The new Hyundai Ioniq 3 is here and although the industry is in a state of delirium, it seems that we're once again in for a bit of schizophrenic design confusion.
It seems that they have Hyundai an entire department of people who roll the dice every morning to decide what their next car will look like. If you park the models Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and now the latest Hyundai Ioniq 3 side by side, you could easily swear they came from three completely different manufacturers. The Koreans have called their new design language “Art of Steel”, but to be honest, this design doesn’t sit well with me. While other automotive journalists sing the praises of the so-called aerodynamic silhouette, I see a brand that can’t seem to find a common denominator. “Each car is its own story, as if the designers were on different continents and the management wouldn’t let them communicate via Zoom.” But they are brave! I admit it!
But let's give it its due - the car is certainly not boring and has its own identity. With a length of 4,155 mm (163.6 inches), a width of 1,800 mm (70.8 inches) and a height of 1,505 mm (59.2 inches), it is quite compact, but thanks to its electrical architecture it is extremely spacious. The drag coefficient is an excellent 0.263, which means that it cuts through the air much more elegantly than it might seem at first glance. At the rear, it is adorned with a massive spoiler (especially in the N Line equipment package), under which 441 liters of total space is hidden - including a cleverly designed Megabox compartment (119 liters) under the double floor, which is ideal for storing charging cables and dirty shoes.
Interior: Glory to reason and tactility!
If the exterior is a mixed bag, the interior is an absolute hit. The Hyundai Ioniq 3 is the first car on European soil to feature the brand-new Pleos Connect infotainment system. This operating system is based on Android Automotive and features a 12.9- or 14.6-inch display, depending on how deep you're willing to dig into your pocket. But here's where the magic happens: directly below the display is a row of real, physical buttons!
Finally! A car brand has realized that at 130 km/h (80 mph) on the highway, drivers really don’t want to slide their finger across the tinted glass through four hidden menus just to reduce the ventilation or turn on the heated seats. There are real switches for temperature, fan, climate control and – the gods have answered our prayers – a physical rotary knob for the volume of your premium Bose audio system. Hyundai deserves a standing ovation for this design move.
One platform and confusing math under the hood
The car is built on the acclaimed E-GMP 400V architecture, which it shares with the related Kia EV3. But Hyundai has done something truly comical in its specification. The car is front-wheel drive only and comes in two main variants that turn everything we know about the automotive hierarchy upside down.
The Standard Range version offers a 42.2 kWh LFP battery that powers a 107.8 kW (147 hp) electric motor. This accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 9.0 seconds. Then there is the Long Range version, which brings a larger NMC battery with a capacity of 61.0 kWh. It would be logical to expect this more expensive model to have more power, right? Wrong! The engineers have reduced the power to just 99.5 kW (135 hp) and due to the additional weight, this model gets you to 100 in a much more leisurely 9.6 seconds. Both versions share the same torque of 250 Nm (184 lb-ft), and the top speed is both electronically limited to 169 km/h (105 mph).
It's like paying extra for a first-class airline ticket and then having the flight attendant bring you oars and say, "Here, sir, now row, because we're going to be traveling a lot further." All kidding aside, this move is entirely deliberate and made in the pursuit of maximum efficiency. The lower power and larger battery mean that the Hyundai Ioniq 3 can manage an impressive 496 km (308 miles) of range under the strict WLTP cycle, while the standard version still covers a solid 344 km (214 miles). Tests suggest that the fuel consumption estimate is enviably low, hovering around 12.5 kWh per 100 kilometers.
Conclusion: Meaning in apparent chaos
If we summarize the facts and feelings of journalists around the world, they mostly praise the exceptional driving dynamics and technological maturity of this little one, which will be manufactured for us in Turkey. Despite my personal concerns about the appearance itself and that design schizophrenia, where the brand apparently starts every new model with a completely blank slate and forgets the heritage of its predecessors, I have to honestly admit: I see something positive and refreshing in it. In an era when all electric cars look like giant computer mice, at least they dare to be bold and different.
The exact price is still a bit of a mystery at the moment, but experts predict that it will start somewhere between 35,000 and 40,000 euros in international markets. This will put the Hyundai Ioniq 3 in the hands of rivals such as the extremely popular MG4 and even its domestic sibling the Kia EV3. The Ioniq 3 may look a bit confusing at first glance, and its acceleration at traffic lights won't break anyone's necks, but the return to physical switches for key functions, the extremely clever use of the interior with the spacious Megabox, and the promising range suggest something very important. They indicate that the engineers actually had the driver in mind when designing this car - the flesh-and-blood one who gets really annoyed by touchscreens while driving. And in today's digital world, that's probably the best and most positive thing I can say about any new car.
